Lips of an Angel
by I Punch Werewolves 4 Fun
Summary: A ten year reunion brings former sweethearts Bella and Edward back into each others lives. How will their reconnection affect the significant others they have back home?
1. Chapter 1

Lips of an Angel

Pairing: Edward & Bella

Rating: M

Summary: A ten year reunion brings former sweethearts Bella and Edward back into each others lives. How will their reconnection affect the significant others they have back home?

DISCLAIMER: I don't own twilight or the song Lips of an angel. Those belong to S. Meyers and Hinder respectively.

* * *

><p>Edward sat in his home office, but there was not any work getting done. His mind was still over two-thousand miles away in Forks, Washington. But his heart-that had left Washington state about twenty minutes before he did, on a flight heading to Los Angles.<p>

Since coming back from his ten year high school reunion a week ago, Edward couldn't find any focus. Even in sleep the thoughts of what took place on that trip plagued him. Not that he necessarily minded; if he could have lived in those passing moments forever, he would have. So when his cell phone started ringing, Edward was quick to answer it-especially after seeing Bella appear on the display.

"Honey, why are you calling me so late?" Edward asked in a very hushed tone. Noticing his fiancée walking from their bedroom to the bathroom, he quickly added, "It's kind of hard to talk right now."

"E-E-Edward," was the pitiful response he received. Many times in high school and when he first went to college he'd heard this greeting. Bella's tearful hellos always caused an ache in Edward's chest and it seemed that eight years passing since the last one hadn't changed his reaction.

"Honey, why are you crying, is everything okay?"

Bella sniffled into her phone; she was sure that anyone passing her car would think she was crazy. She was dressed to kill in a beautiful cocktail dress, but the tears and smeared makeup running down her face ruined the look. All the words she tried to speak came out mumbled and garbled as her hysteria continued to grow.

"He… I … said he wanted a b-b-baby… But I c-can't… We yelled… Ran out," where the sputtered explanations she offered.

"Listen, I gotta whisper 'cause I can't be too loud. But Bella, I need you to calm down, honey. Take some deep breaths," Edward tried to soothe.

It took her a few moments, but Bella was eventually able to calm herself down. "Can you talk now?" she asked, her words sounding desperate even to herself. Her night had not gone as expected and she called had him in hope that hearing his voice would quell the storm raging inside of her.

"Well, my girl's in the next room, but I can talk."

Though his words were the truth, it still stung Bella to hear him call anyone other than her his girl. The feelings swarming inside her caused any words she had prepared to get stuck in her throat.

"So, what's going on? You kind of have me worried," Edward pressed on.

"Riley," Bella started and Edward had to fight down the growl threatening to escape him at that name. Last week at the reunion, the former high school sweethearts had a chance to catch up. To say he was shocked at the news would be an understatement-Edward was absolutely flabbergasted that Bella was married. The sole reason they had spilt while in college was because she claimed to not be ready, with no foresight as to when she might want to settle down.

Edward wasn't angry with her; not anymore at least.

It had been a hard pill to swallow when Edward had listened to Bella explain how she was no longer Miss Swan, but rather Mrs. Biers. Hearing the tale of how their matrimony came to be was difficult at best, especially since it seemed the Bella was not completely happy with her new role as a wife. Her recollections had led him to believe that while she cared deeply for her husband, she wasn't quite so fond of their marriage.

The picture painted to him, not just through Bella's words but also by her tense body language and facial reactions, had brought Edward to the conclusion that Bella had almost been conned or forced into this.

Evidentially this Riley guy was a smooth talker; he could verbally run circles around anyone and make them do exactly what he wanted. And he'd wanted Bella enough to get her to marry him during a romantic weekend get away to Las Vegas. When the dust of their actions had settled and they were on their way back to L.A., Bella had come to doubt the choices they'd made. But with his bag of conversational tricks, Riley had not only convinced Bella to stay married, but to move in with him.

Bella had given in and agreed to make things work; the only problem with this, as she had told Edward, was how unhappy she was. The spark that had once been full of heat in their relationship had long since fizzled. If she was being honest, Bella could admit that it had been fading since before the ill-fated trip to the city of sin. She had been using that getaway as a last chance to salvage what she thought their relationship could have been.

Two years later, she was still with him but unsure as to why. He was a great partner and would always provide security for her, but she just wasn't in love with him anymore. She often questioned if she ever had been. Seeing Edward at the reunion had given her the answer to her ponderings. Yes, she had been in love with Riley, but not enough-never enough.

Edward's rage over the bastard known as Bella's husband continued to grow as she explained her current state of tears "He said he wanted us to have a baby. He wants to start trying now; said it was time. But the only thing I could think of was how I can't. Not with him."

"A baby? Is he out of his mind? Seriously, this dude must be crazy," Edward whisper-yelled into the phone.

While Bella was upset over her situation, she was downright pissed at Edward's reaction to it. Who was he to talk? she thought. He was engaged with a baby of his own on the way.

"Excuse me?" she barked out. "Aren't you the one with a knocked up fiancée?" When Edward didn't answer, she gave him a sarcastic, "Yeah, that's what I thought."

Edward was frustrated. He knew Bella was right, in a way. Sure, from the outside looking in, it seemed he had it all. A sweet, caring, beautiful fiancée with a child on the way and a career he loved. But things were not always as they seemed.

Edward and Tanya, his now fiancée, had been in a fairly casual relationship for a few months. Neither was all that interested in making things more serious; they each had demanding jobs that required the majority of their time and attention. In truth, they were more of good friends who enjoyed hanging out together and occasionally hooking up. With work taking the top priority in each of their lives, there was little room left to date or troll bars for a fling. It was just easier to turn to each other for basic companionship and sexual gratification.

That all changed the day Edward received an unexpected phone call from Tanya. They'd usually made plans for their next date at the end of the previous one, so hearing from her in the middle of his work week was baffling. Knowing that she wouldn't have contacted him unless it was an emergency, he'd quickly agreed to meet with her at her condo that night.

Edward's world was turned upside down after being inside Tanya's home for five minutes. Their discussion had led him in a direction he neither expected, wanted nor was prepared for. Tanya's big confession was that she was pregnant and the child belonged to Edward. There was no chance it was not his, she had not only claimed to have only been with him over the past year, but the timeframe of conception matched with a time they had been together.

Being that he was and always had been a stand up guy, Edward proposed. He wasn't really in love with Tanya, but he'd never imagined not being there for his future children. The two sat down and discussed both the pros and cons of a hypothetical marriage and had determined that it could work. They were good enough friends and both were committed to being a parent to their child.

"You know damn well that my situation and yours are different," Edward said through gritted teeth. Realizing the conversation had the potential to get loud, he got up to close the door. "I'm doing what I think is the right thing. But what's your excuse, Bella? Why be with him if you hate it and have nothing tying you to him? Huh?"

"Because.." Bella trailed off, all the fight and anger leaving her, only to be replaced with heartache and longing. "It's the second best choice. Even if I leave, I won't get what I want… I won't get you."

Edward rubbed his chest over his heart; he could hear her crying and it made him ache. For the millionth time since they became reacquainted, he found himself lost in thoughts of her and what their lives could have been if they'd stayed together in college.

"I know, honey, trust me... I know," he whispered to her. "Because sometimes... I wish she was you."

A/N

It was always something I could see playing out in my mind every time I heard the song 'Lips of an Angel'.

I had planned on writing this whole thing and then posting, but I'm impatient- I also like to pretend that by posting something, I don't feel as horrible about the standstill One Hundred Percent has hit.


	2. Chapter 2

owns Twilight, Hinder owns the song Lips of an Angel and I own a bottle of Stoli that's going to be a little less full at the end of the night.

* * *

><p><strong><em>Chapter 2<em>**

Bella was silent, just staring into the darkness outside her car window. She and Edward had both admitted that in a perfect world they would be together; that the significant others in their lives were not as significant as they were before the reunion, maybe even ever.

After a long stretch of silence, the only thing either of them could hear was the other's breathing, Edward piped up. He was quiet and seemed unsure of what to say. "Bella?"

"Yeah," she sighed "I'm here."

"I don't know what to say, what to do…" He trailed off, giving Bella the impression he was just as stunned as she was.

"I guess," she started, "I guess we never really moved on."

She knew that in all the years they were apart she never found a way to move past her feelings for him. Edward declared he felt the same, whispering, "No, I never did."

A muffled knocking from Bella's end of the line brought Edward out of his thoughts. She told him to hold on for a minute. He could clearly hear what was transpiring in L.A. Riley had found Bella. He was questioning her behavior, asking why she left and what she was doing parked on the side of a random road.

Edward had never hated living in Chicago as much as he did in that moment. He was more than two thousand miles away from Bella and in no way could he protect her from Riley's harsh words. His eyes were closed and his hands balled into fists as he listened to the yelling from California.

"What is wrong with you Bella?" Riley had screamed. "You just take off from the restaurant and hide in some slummy neighborhood?"

"Ry, I'm-"

"No!" she was cut off. "Don't Ry, me! Start your car up and follow me home so we can talk this out like adults."

Bella started her car and flicked her headlights on before she brought the phone to her ear. "I gotta go," she sighed and hung up before Edward could say another word. She hadn't even shifted her car into drive when her cell started ringing, _EC _showing up on the display.

Looking at the device in her hand Bella wasn't sure what to do. Her heart was telling her to pick it up and find comfort in Edward's voice and calming words. Her head, however, was telling her she had made her bed, that Riley was her husband and she shouldn't be looking for reassurances or peace from another man, no matter what she felt for that other man.

From behind her, Riley tapped on his horn impatiently, signaling her to start driving. In that instant it became clear to Bella what she needed to do. She hit the ignore button and powered her phone off.

After his first attempt, each time Edward dialed he was met with Bella's voicemail. The way she said goodbye made him want to run to the airport and hop the first flight he could to the west coast. The automated voice did not deter him. He continued trying to reach Bella, even leaving a few messages asking her to please call him back so he knew she was okay.

He was just about to press the send button again when a knock on the door stopped him. Tanya peeked her head into his office, a look of concern gracing her face.

"You coming to bed soon? It's after one in the morning."

"Yeah," Edward said, trying to covertly slip his phone into his pocket. "I just finished actually."

Standing up, Edward walked towards Tanya and gave her a hug, a silent apology for his actions from the past week. He was never the kind of guy to cheat on his partner, but he knew if Tanya found out about his interactions and time with Bella, she would be hurt. They may not have started out their relationship looking for romance or gotten engaged for love, but they were close friends and building a life together.

After settling Tanya into bed, Edward headed for the bathroom and tried calling Bella once more. He was unsure what he would say if she answered, but he just wanted to hear her voice. He didn't need to worry about talking though, because the phone didn't ring. He hung up before her recorded greeting was finished and sent her a text, begging her to please call him when she had a chance.

After taking care of his nightly routine, he switched his phone to vibrate and climbed into bed. He leaned over and gently kissed his fiancée on the head, gave her belly a light rub and rolled away, drifting to sleep.

The next few days passed slowly and torturously for Edward. Despite many attempts, his calls and texts to Bella went unanswered. Her phone was still off, and he was getting more worried by the hour.

Edward didn't know Riley, only what Bella had spoken of him, but as more time passed with no contact from her, Edward's mind began to turn to horrific possibilities. He imagined her bloody and bruised in a hospital, cold and pale in a morgue or with little life left in her as she gave into Riley's desires.

He had even gone as far as scouring Facebook to find her. It had taken him a few minutes to digest seeing _Isabella Swan-Biers_. It's not that he didn't know; it was just difficult to see the truth on the screen. Even harder was clicking through pictures of her and some blonde pretty boy. But as far as status updates went, the last thing shown was a mention of her being checked in at _Kon's Sushi Palace _made by Riley on Saturday-he day of their disastrous dinner.

Clicking on Riley's profile was a waste of time. It was private and other than his dumb profile picture-_which reminded him of an asshole-ish frat boy still in college_-Edward was unable to see anything. He was getting so worried, that he debated calling Bella's best friend from Forks. Though he was pretty sure Alice Brandon-Whitlock would not provide any information.

Edward was, thankfully, saved the trouble of tracking down the girl because his phone finally rang. "Bella? Bella, are you there?"

"Yeah, it's me." She confirmed, while fighting the tears building in her eyes.

"Oh, my god!" Edward exclaimed. "I've been so worried! You have no idea, I've been freaking out, you can't do that kind of shit."

"Edward," Bella started. She had intended to tell him not to worry and that everything was fine. But she could not bring herself to lie to him. "I'm sorry, Eddie. So sorry. I know I should have called you back. Please don't be mad, Edward."

Edward was mad, but the pleading in Bella's voice changed that. He was just happy she seemed okay. The relief he felt at finally having contact with her was indescribable.

"God," Edward sighed. "It's really good to hear your voice, saying my name. It sounds so sweet." He paused briefly to put his thoughts in order. "Bella, I'm not mad at you. Not anymore, anyway. I'm just glad you're alright. I was so afraid something would happen to you." His words hit them both hard and caused tears to fall from their eyes.

* * *

><p>AN:

So that's chapter two. Not much for me to say about it. Next chapter ETA is 2-3 weeks depending on some RL issues.

Thanks to anyone who reviewed, your support makes me smile.

Thanks to my beta on this beast, DeJean Smith. She just wrapped up her fic, Evermore Experience, go take a look if you haven't.

~Ash


End file.
